Cricket Tournaments

Okay, India won the series 3-1 following the abandoned encounter at Delhi. However, the batters from both sides dominated the series. If Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli starred for India, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga and Kumar Sangakkara were in explosive form for the Lankans.

The bowlers from both sides, experienced and inexperienced, were at the receiving end. As such, if there was one factor that decided the fate of the series, it was the inability of the weak Lankan middle-order to capitalize on the great starts provided by the trio mentioned above.

Except for Mahela Jayawardene, they did not have much when it came to experience in the middle-order. Thilina Kandamby showed some spark when India visited Sri Lanka earlier in the year, but on this tour his deficiencies were clearly exposed.

In fact, he will be remembered more for his innumerable fielding lapses during the series more than anything else. Then, there is Chamara Kapugedara, who has been retaining his place in the side for reasons unknown.

He hasn’t registered a decent score in a while and it’s about time the Lankan selectors tell him to shape up for ship out. Among the others, Thilan Samaraweera is still finding his feet as an ODI batsman, while Sanath Jayasuriya has looked anything but comfortable while batting down the order. And so, Jayawardene’s failure proved all the more critical for the visitors.

Despite being on the losing side, it was great to see Dilshan in full flow. 2009 has been his watershed year and he can only get better from here on. The drives on the up, cuts, pulls and of course the Dilscoop have made him as devastating a batsman as Sehwag.

Like Dishan, Tharanga too was in ballistic form. He had lost his way after a sensational start to his career, but this series should set things right for him once again. And about Sangakkara, one can’t be effusive enough in praise of his batsmanship. The effortless ease with which he cleared the boundaries throughout series was in stark contrast to the power play on demonstration by Dilshan, yet equally effective.

However, if the Lankan trio was explosive, India were even more deadly. Sehwag carried his murderous form from the Tests into the ODIs and gave India some enthralling starts. And when Sehwag failed, Tendulkar was there to hold fort. Gambhir only made one major contribution in the series, but it was perhaps the most significant of all. Further, this series could end up being the turning point in rookie Kohli’s career. Prior to the series, he was not able to convert the 50s into bigger scores. But at Kolkata, in the company of Gambhir, he achieved it in an impressive manner, and more importantly under pressure.

In the other departments, it has to be said that India were the slightly better of the two bowling sides, while Lanka took the honours when it came to fielding, despite not being at their best. At the end of the day, however, their overall failure as a batting unit sealed their fate.

What transpired at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi on Sunday was embarrassing and extremely sad. It was the last cricketing day of the year for Sri Lanka and India.

Both teams and more importantly the spectators, who had turned up in large numbers and with loads of expectations, did not deserve such an inexplicable fiasco. Surely, such things cannot happen in a nation that, everyone knows, can hold world cricket to ransom on the basis of the huge money it brings into the game. Then again, as the popular saying goes, it happens only in India.

The catastrophe in waiting was predictable even before the game began. During the pre-match pitch report, Sunil Gavaskar compared the surface to a hair-weaving job — bald patches interspersed with grass coverings. No one could predict how the pitch would play and so, not surprisingly, MS Dhoni decided to bowl first and have a look. The delay due to misty conditions only turned out to be the calm before the storm.

To take nothing away from Zaheer Khan, he bowled a peach of a delivery to send back the in-from Upul Tharanga off the first ball. But what followed from thereon can be attributed neither to the batters nor the bowlers.

It was the Kotla pitch that was dictating the terms of play. It was as if the curators had given ghostly qualities to the pitch, as some balls leapt close to or over the batsmen’s shoulder after pitching and others rolled along the square, hardly having any life as it trudged into the keeper’s gloves. And when such things happen, the chances of serious injuries to batsmen become imminent.

One can even go to the extent of saying that it was surprising Kumar Sangakkara waited for so long before calling off the game – over 20 overs. Yes, such was the viciousness of Kolta on Sunday.

Tillakaratne Dilshan was hit on the elbow by one that reared up from a good length, while Sanath Jayasuriya took one on the shoulder from a delivery that had pitched in an area close by. Luckily, no one was seriously injured and before anyone did, the suave Sangakkara took the smart decision of stepping in and bringing the curtains down on the game abruptly.

While one feels extremely sad for the fans, there are no two ways about it that the Lankan captain made the right choice. If anything, the DDCA must be held responsible.

They had enough time to prepare a good international pitch. Unfortunately, what they offered was no acceptable even by gully cricket standards. This is what happens when the reins of sports are handed over to the power-greedy politicians. Everyone wants things their way and the end result is the curator doesn’t have a proper say, leading to vicious results.

Of course, this is not the first time such an incident has occurred in India. 12 years ago, an ODI in Indore had to be abandoned between the same two teams for the same reason.

The men in charge over there have since got their act right and Indore games have produced some fabulous entertainment. DDCA too must act swiftly and move over this shameful episode, more so because they are scheduled to host four matches during the 2011 World Cup.

India gave a perfect Christmas gift to its cricket-loving public, with a convincing seven-wicket win at the charming Eden Gardens in Kolkata, which hosted an international game after quite a while. Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kolhi were the chief architects of the win, both notching up sparkling centuries. Things weren’t all that easy for India, as they lost stand-in skipper Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar chasing a 300-plus score. However, Gambhir batted with great gumption and Kohli provided him with excellent support. The duo went about rebuilding the innings in a highly mature fashion and, in the end, India cantered home to a series victory.

Gambhir, who was due for a big score, stood up to the challenge, like he has so often done in the last 12 months. Despite losing the openers early to the pacy Suranga Lakmal, who extracted substantial bounce from the track, the southpaw saw to it that India never fell behind the required run-rate. It helped that Lakmal did not get an inch of support from the other pacemen. Lasith Malinga bowled like a debutant while the actual debutant, Thissara Perera, had a baptism by fire. If Gambhir was excellent in constructing his innings, Kolhi was equally impressive. This writer had mentioned in his earlier piece that Kolhi needed to learn from his mistakes and convert starts into substantial scores. At the Eden Gardens he did just that as the hunger to get a hundred was evident in the manner in which he went about constructing his innings.

The best part of the Kolhi-Gambhir association was that they complemented each other perfectly during their record third-wicket partnership. Both ran brilliantly between the wickets and stole a number of twos, even when the ball had not crossed the 30-yard circle. And they rotated the strike with effervescent ease. The job was made easier for the duo, as a number of boundary balls were on offer. Just like the singles and twos, they did not allow any of the opportunities to pass by. Even so, they managed to play rather risk-free cricket.

Against spinner Suraj Randiv, who was the best bowler on show for the Lankans once more, they were prepared to deal in singles. The fact that the ball did not turn owing to the dew factor meant Gambhir could easily clip the ball on the on side, unlike at Cuttack where the stroke cost him his wicket. As for Kolhi, his tendency to move across the stumps has often led to his downfall. But, on this day, there was no stopping him as he middled everything enroute to his maiden ODI hundred. That the innings came under trying circumstances with hold him in good stead for the future games.

Unlike their batting, the bowling effort was disappointing yet again. Ishant Sharma continued to flatter and deceive, Ashish Nehra bowled well only in patches and while Zaheer Khan put up a better effort, he was still not at his best. For a change, there was a significant improvement in their fielding effort. At the end of the day though, two magnificent tons were enough for India to chinch yet another ODI series win over Lanka and set off the Christmas festivities in the country.

Is this the stroke of luck Sri Lanka needed? For the first time in five years, India will be without the two lynchpins of their middle-order – skipper MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, one serving a ban and the other ruled out due to a recurrence of his finger injury. Moreover, Lanka have fond memories of the venue for the fourth and crucial ODI. Thirteen years ago, it was here at Eden Gardens, Kolkata that a rampaging Lankans knocked India out of the World Cup in an embarrassing fashion. So despite being 2-1 down, they still have enough going for them. It’s now up to the visitors to exploit the situation to the hilt.

Let’s not be unfair to India though. Considering that they won at Cuttack in an extremely handsome fashion, the home side will start as favourites even in the absence of Dhoni and Yuvraj. In Virender Sehwag, they have a positive stand-in skipper and a batsman whose credentials do not need to be discussed. It will help that he has been in great form. Additionally, Sachin Tendulkar too has played with a lot of comfort. His knock at Cuttack should given the side further assurance that they can afford a somewhat brittle middle-order. While Sehwag and Tendulkar have been among the runs, the same cannot be said around Gautam Gambhir. And so India would be hoping that the southpaw has a big one reserved for Kolkata.

Coming back to the middle-order, this game will be a great opportunity for the youngsters to stand up and show what stuff they are made of. Suresh Raina will get an opportunity to bat up the order, and it’s about time he starts converting his 30s and 40s into big scores. Ditto with Virat Kohli. In his short stint at the international level, it has been observed that Kohli loses focus after getting a good start and looking well set for a big score. Here’s a chance for him to set the record straight. Among the others, Dinesh Karthik and Ravindra Jadeja would be expected to chip in if needed.

As has been the case throughout the series, the Indian bowling and fielding, in particular, will be under the scanner. The pacemen continued to struggle in the third ODI and it was only due to the efforts of the spinners that India could make a superb comeback. While it is good news that the Eden Gardens pitch will offer assistance to the slow bowlers in the latter half of the innings, the fast bowlers will have to put up a better show else the efficiency of the spinners will automatically be reduced.

One should also be careful of not putting excessive pressure on Jadeja, the bowler. While it is true that he bowled excellently in the last game, it is also a fact that he’s more of a part-time spinner and won’t be as successful consistently. That responsibility is still to be shouldered by Harbhajan Singh. If Jadeja manages to get through his quota of overs without being overtly expensive and picks up the odd wicket, he will have done his bit. And if India succeeds in wrapping up the series at Kolkata, the team too would have done its job well.

History repeated itself for Sri Lanka once again as their middle and lower order crumbled for third game in a row at Cuttack. While they were lucky to get away with it at Nagpur, the collapse was too magnanimous to allow the visitors to escape in the day-night encounter on Monday. The failure of the middle-order batsmen has meant that the great starts provided by the top three are constantly going in vain.

Most sides would die to have their first three batsmen in supreme form. Unfortunately, the Lankans are just not being able to capitalize on it. And being the most experienced hand in the middle-order, former captain Mahela Jayawardene must accept some part of the blame for the team’s failures. When you consider that the others like Thilina Kandamby and Chamara Kapugedera are relatively inexperienced, a lot of onus naturally falls on Jayawardene to perform. He is capable of not only scoring big runs, but also guiding the youngsters, considering he was leading the same bunch of guys not so long ago. The series is not over yet, so if Jayawardene can step up and deliver, he can still play a pivotal role in turning around Lanka’s fortunes.

Plenty has been written about the exclusion of Sanath Jayasuriya. Many have termed it unfair. True, Jayasuriya has been a great servant of Lankan cricket for two decades, but it is also a fact that he cannot walk into the team just on the basis past achievements. And so keeping sentiments aside, one will realize that the kind of form Upul Tharanga and Tillakartne Dilshan are in, there is no place for Jayasuriya at the top of the other. If anything, he can be slotted in as an all-rounder at number six, replacing one of the youngsters. This ploy was tried in the opening game and though it did not come off, there is no harm in giving it another go considering the brittle resistance the middle-order has been putting up.

The Lankan bowling hasn’t been extraordinary in any sense, but on subcontinent wickets bowlers are bound to be tanked around. Even so, the comeback of Lasith Malinga will be welcomed by the team. He may not have posed many threats to the Indian batsmen at Cuttack, but he can prove to be quite a handful if he gets it right in the coming games. Further, Chanaka Welegedara and rookie spinner Surav Randiv also have been extremely impressive with the ball. Ironically, in the bowling department too, the experienced men like Nuwan Kulasekara and Ajantha Mendis have let the team down. To be fair to Lanka, they have been hit badly by injuries. However, at the international level that cannot be an excuse to under perform.

While the Sri Lankans would be hoping that the middle-order and the bowlers get their act right, at the same time they would also be praying that Dilshan, Tharanga and Sangakkara continue in the same vein. And if all things fall in place, there might as well be another turnaround in the series.

Ravindra Jadeja was the unlikely hero with the ball for India, claiming a career-best 4/32 and helping India overcome an unbelievably belligerent start by Sri Lanka, who batted first after winning the toss. In the end, India won easily by 7 wickets thanks to yet another supreme effort from Sachin Tendulkar, who remained unbeaten on 96, as India chased down a modest target of 240.

The way the Lankans began, they looked well on course to score over 350. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga slammed nearly each and every delivery out of sight as the partnership raised 65 in less than seven overs. Once again, the left-arm pace duo of Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra were at the receiving. Ishant Sharma, who took the place of Praveen Kumar in the playing XI, wasn’t spared either. If anything, he was singled out for special treatment by the dynamic opening pair. The Indians once again were let down by their fielding. MS Dhoni’s keeping replacement Dinesh Karthik missed one of the easiest run out chances amidst the run carnage, Dilshan being the beneficiary. Luckily for India and Karthik, the slip-up did not prove too costly as Nehra snapped him up a few runs later, caught by none other than Karthik himself of a short, rising delivery which Dilshan (41) top-edged.

The troubles though were far from over for the Indians. Tharanga continued the good work in the company of skipper Kumar Sangakkara. Mixing caution and aggression perfectly, the two laid a solid foundation for Lanka. The pair had added exactly a hundred when Sangakkara’s charge down the track to his opposite number Virender Sehwag proved fatal. Sangakkara missed the ball and a fumbling Karthik somehow managed to get rid of the bails, giving India some much-needed respite. There was no looking back for India from thereon as they took firm control.

The left-arm spinner Jadeja began his demolition job by cleaning up the well-set Tharanga (73) from one which came back in sharply and breached his defence. Soon, he had Chamara Kapugedera bowled off an inside edge. At the other end, Harbhajan Singh was doing a wonderful job, strangling the runs. He was rewarded for his efforts with the wicket of Mahela Jayawardene. The former skipper fell to a tame dismissal when he lofted a long hop straight into the hands of a floating short mid-on. Sharma, who had a woeful first spell, then came back to dent the Lankans further with a double blow. He had the dangerous Thilina Kandamby bowled and Suraj Randiv caught behind off successive deliveries. Jadeja then continued his good work trapping Nuwan Kulasekara lbw and cleaning bowling Ajantha Mendis as the Lankan innings drew to a close. From 165/1, the visitors miraculously collapsed to 239 all out.

For the Lankans to stay in the game, early wickets were essential. However, a whirlwind start by stand-in skipper Sehwag (44) ensured the nerves were settled in the Indian dressing room. Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh also made useful contributions, but it was Tendulkar who saw India through till the end in the company of Karthik (36*). On most days, such a performance would have been enough to earn Tendulkar the man of the match, but on this day it was undeniably Jadeja whose performance stood out.

With the series level at 1-1, India and Sri Lanka will have plenty at stake as they lock horns at Cuttack. Whoever clinches the game will become favourites to win the series, as the other side will have to come out victorious in the final two games to end on top, a rather improbable proposition if you go by history. For one, Sri Lanka will go into the match believing they can upset the Indian applecart once again. This after their magnificent chases in both the games played so far. India may have won the Rajkot battle, but it was undoubtedly Lanka who won more hearts, coming tantalizingly close, chasing over 400.

While the Indian batting has been in awesome form, they still need to figure out a way to utilize the powerplays when Virender Sehwag falls early, like it happened in Nagpur. India clearly lost out on a few runs because of his dismissal, which made a huge difference in the end. And though Virat Kohli did a good job coming up the order, Sunil Gavaskar’s suggestion that MS Dhoni should come up at number three in such situations must be implemented. This is only in hindsight, but it’s a point to ponder upon that had Dhoni come in earlier India could have notched up a bigger total, which could have made a significant difference.

Sadly for the Indians, this strategy cannot be implemented in the next two games as the Indian captain has been banned for the team’s slow-over rate. It goes without saying that Dhoni’s services as batsman, keeper as well as skipper will be missed dearly. However, there is no point in losing sleep over it. The Indians must instead focus on how to get their act right at Cuttack. For a start, Dinesh Karthik is not a bad replacement for Dhoni as keeper batsman. He has been in such situations before and has more often than not done a commendable job. India would be hoping Karthik delivers in the next two games as well.

In Dhoni’s absence, Sehwag will take over the mantle of captaincy. India will be hoping that the additional pressure doesn’t affect his batsmanship. The one positive for India might be the inclusion of Yuvraj Singh, which should definitely shore up the batting order in Dhoni’s absence. However, they have bigger worries to sort out, none more than their bowling in the first half of their innings and their so oft mentioned atrocious fielding efforts. While Zaheer Khan’s lapses in the field weren’t entirely responsible for India’s loss at Nagpur, they were symptomatic of the team’s performance in the field, which has been ragged from the time Lanka arrived in India.

The visitors themselves have a few problems of their own. After Muttiah Muralitharan and Dilhara Fernando, their Man Friday Angelo Mathews will now miss the remainder of the series following the injury he picked up during his match-winning knock at Nagpur. Their middle-order too needs to bat with a lot more responsibility so that the efforts of the top three – Tharanga, Dilshan and Sangakkara – don’t go in vain. All in all, yet another closely fought contest in the offing.

Sanity was restored to cricket at Nagpur as the scores returned to the usual 300-bracket from the extraordinary 400 plus totals achieved at Rajkot. But, there was no shortage of drama here too as the match once again went down to the wire. Yet again, it seemed Sri Lanka would throw it away after being in a commanding position for most part of the chase. However, an unimpressive bowling effort and some slack fielding in the closing stages combined to let Lanka off the hook in the end. For the visitors, Angelo Mathews (37*) played a brisk cameo, batting with a runner towards the fag end of the innings, to ensure the Lankans did not repeat the mistakes made in the first game.

Earlier, it was Tillakaratne Dilshan who once again set up the chase of 302 perfectly for Sri Lanka, notching up his second blistering ton in as many games and fifth overall. Like in the first game, he got excellent support from his opening partner Upul Tharanga. The duo batted as if they were continuing from where they finished at Rajkot. All the bowlers were taken to the cleaners from the very start of the innings. Zaheer Khan was pulverized, as were Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar. Most of Dilshan’s big strokes came hitting on the up, either straight down on the ground or over mid-on and mid-off. It was a typical Dilshan effort which saw the Lankans race past fifty in the 7th over. At the other end, Tharanga played his part well, finding the boundaries every time width was offered to him as the duo registered their second century partnership in consecutive matches.

With the Lankan openers going great guns, MS Dhoni had to turn to Harbhajan Singh as early as the 8th over. But Dilshan took a liking to him as well, playing mind games with him. At times he trudged down the ground to the spinner and on other occasions, he stayed back and nudged or cut the bowler for boundaries behind square. Eventually though, it was Harbhajan who got the breakthrough, beating Tharanga in the flight and having him caught in the slips. Dilshan then helped India’s cause by running out his captain Kumar Sangakkara for 21.

The match continued to ebb and flow from there on with Nehra cleaning up Dilshan for a magnificent 123 with a perfectly-directed yorker. At the other end, Zaheer delivered three big strikes in his final spell to keep India in the hunt. Ironically, his erroneous fielding lapses in the penultimate over settled the matter in favour of the visitors.

Batting first after winning the toss, India rode on a lucky century from skipper Dhoni – he was let off on more than one occasion – and half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina to post 301 for 7. This after Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir fell cheaply and Sachin Tendulkar failed to convert a good start. The recall of Ajantha Mendis benefited Lanka while debutant spinner Suraj Randiv was more than impressive, picking up three crucial scalps. India still ended up with a fighting total. But the kind of form Dilshan is in, no total can be termed match-winning. He missed out on the man of the match award by a whisker at Rajkot, but at Nagpur there were no two choices.